One of our new venues for our 25th Edition is Chelmsford Cathedral. It may not be the oldest ecclesiastical building in Essex – that goes to the Chapel of St-Peter-On-The-Wall in Bradwell-on-Sea – but it certainly has its own remarkable story to tell. Not least of all the partial collapse of the nave in 1800. Luckily no one was hurt as recalled in the rhyme, Chelmsford Church and Writtle Steeple / Fell down one day but killed no people. It also fell victim to the rampaging militia who smashed the East Window during the Civil War.

While such dramatic events are not on our menu this June, we are delighted to be welcoming author Rebecca Smith to the Cathedral for our first lunch-time: Taking the Long View Conversation.

Rebecca, a writer and journalist who has worked for BBC Radio for over a decade, will be talking about her memoir Rural on Thursday 13th June at 1pm.

The Editor’s choice in The Bookseller for paperbacks in June, Rural explores the lives of the rural working class in contemporary Britain and how generations of precarious lives on the land have been shaped by shifting industries, government policies and global forces. Something that resonates with generations of congregations who have gathered in the Cathedral over the centuries.

Anyone who has a sweet spot for Ronald Blythe’s Akenfield, including Festival Director Ros Green who grew up Akenfield (Charsfield in East Suffolk) and who will be is chairing this event, should get this event in their diary now!

Tuesday 13th June, 1pm
Rebecca Smith, Rural – Taking The Long View
Chelmsford Cathedral.

The post Taking The Long View appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

They will be discussing Andrew’s book, Singing Like Larks, a joyous celebration of song, the seasons, and our love of birds as well as exploring the legacy of J.A. Baker’s The Peregrine and what it means to Essex.

A companion event to the ongoing exhibition Restless Brilliance at Chelmsford Museum – catch it if you can – that focusses on the life and work of life-long Chelmsford writer and resident J.A. Baker of The Peregrine fame, other participants include Mark Cocker who will be talking about his new book One Midsummer’s Day, and Costa-Award shortlisted novelist Joanna Glen who will be talking her new book Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly.

Restless Brilliance: Singing Like Larks with Andrew Millham and David Simmonds, Sunday 16th June, 1.30pm, Hylands House, Chelmsford.

Click here for more information and to book tickets.

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University of Essex are celebrating 60 years of making change happen. 60 years of boldness and bravery from their students past and present. 60 years of creating change.

Over six decades they have nurtured thinkers and doers who’ve changed our world for the better.

So, to celebrate, they are showcasing “Sixty Stories” that shed light on how their students, staff, research, and partnerships are creating global impact.

Find out more at 60stories.essex.ac.uk.

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The theme for this year is This Land. A nod to our wonderful county, its fascinating history and natural heritage, and most importantly, the people who inhabit it.

One event not to be missed is Festival Patron and University of Essex Chancellor Sarah Perry. Sarah will be talking to Festival Chair Peter Donaldson at University of Essex about her new book Enlightenment on 1st June. This event follows on from a day of activities on Campus to launch the festival.

Other activities on the day include our community Radical Essex Procession in partnership with internationally acclaimed arts organisation Kinetika. Following on from our Radical Walks in Essex and last year’s Radical Pilgrimage led by artist Lora Aziz, the Radical Procession will commence at St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church, one of the iconic sites of the Siege of Colchester in 1648, and will conclude at University of Essex, which was founded in 1964 as a radical university, with its first vice-chancellor, Albert Sloman, committed to providing an environment that encouraged radical thought and taking students who would challenge prevailing orthodoxies.

To make it all the more special we are teaming up with internationally acclaimed arts organisation Kinetika, who will be bringing their 500 Beach of Dreams hand-painted natural dyed pennants to literally raise the flag on our 25th Edition. Anyone wanting to join in the fun and be one of our flagbearers for the day, please click here to sign up.

Other Festival Delights

With John Crace, Helen Lederer and Lionel Shriver all taking part in author events at Anglia Ruskin University; Mark Cocker and Joanna Glen in the line-up for our Restless Brilliance Day at Hylands House on 16th June (Father’s Day), we have an exciting range of events taking place in Chelmsford this June. Make sure you get in quick.

Our library events include A.K. Blakemore talking about her fabulous new novel The Glutton at Maldon Library, Vaseem Khan who will be delivering this year’s Dorothy L Sayers Lecture at Witham Library, Matt Cain in conversation with Festival Director Ros Green about his new book One Love, and Alan Johnson discussing his new crime novel Death on The Thames at Chelmsford Library, amongst others. Again, tickets are limited for these events.

We can’t recommend enough our Listen Up! Day, which will be taking place at Colchester Samaritans on 8th June. Not only are we welcoming back The Human Library to the festival, once again in partnership with Essex Cultural Diversity Project, we have two other fascinating authors participating on the day: Hafsa Zayyan, a contributor to the amazing anthology edited by Joanna Canon, Will You Read This, Please?, and London-based German Nigerian writer, speaker and performer Olumide Popoola, whose novel Like Water Like Sea is an immersive novel of self-discovery, resilience, and the unifying power of love.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Full programme to be announced and tickets go on sale at essexbookfestival.org.uk at 10am Thursday 4th April.

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To celebrate the 25th Edition of Essex Book Festival, we are inviting young people (ages 7-11) living in Essex to join in our Super Short Story Competition.

The theme is This Land. You might be inspired by the world around you, the place where you live, somewhere you have visited or want to visit, an Essex story you know, our beautiful nature and wildlife, or something completely different inspired by Essex. The most important thing is to use your creativity and imagination to write a Short Story that you think is SUPER!

As we are celebrating Essex, the story must include the word Essex.

Winning stories will be announced at our Super Short Story Awards Ceremony by BBC Essex Presenter Rob Jelly on Sunday 23rd June. The Ceremony will take place at Cressing Temple Barns as part of our Midsummer Madness Family Fun Day.

How to Enter

To enter, just email your story to [email protected], along with your name, age, and parent/guardian’s email address.

The deadline for entries is Friday 24th May 2024.

Rules

Entry is open to young people aged 7 to 11.
The story must be 100 words or less (title is not included in the number).
The story must be a child’s own original idea.
The story must include the word Essex.
It can take the form of a story or a poem.

Prizes

1 x Winner will win a £25 book token
2 x Runners Up will each win a £15 book token
Winner & Runners Up stories will be published on Essex Book Festival Website

For more information please email: [email protected]

Good Luck!

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The national programme, run by Eastside Educational Trust, aims to make language exciting, inclusive and fun and give young people the confidence, skills and creative acumen to write and perform their own spoken word poetry, showcased at their own school slam events and at this regional spoken word event, held on World Poetry Day. The young people’s poems will also be published in the annual Spoken Word Power anthology.

The evening was hosted by poet Justin Coe who performed some of his own poems to get the audience warmed up, and was attended by Chelmsford Mayor, Councillor Linda Mascot who has supported the project throughout.

An extra big thank you to members of Spark, Chelmsford Youth Forum, for helping with hosting the event, filming and stage direction and ensuring all of the young performers were well looked after.

With thanks to all involved in the project, from our wonderful artists – Justin Coe, Sadie Davidson, Gail Egbeson, Tyler Luke Cunningham and Yossi Goodlink – to the teachers, parents, theatre team and Rachana at Chelmsford Local Education Cultural Partnership.

And the biggest thank you to the young students who performed their poems. We couldn’t be prouder of you – thank you for making it a truly inspiring evening.

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It celebrates libraries that demonstrate hospitality, solidarity, and welcome to new arrivals to the UK and recognises the resources and services available for those seeking sanctuary in Britain.

This includes sanctuary library cards. These grant free access to books, online services and computers without needing documents.

Welcome leaflets and joining forms are also available in 21 languages.

More about Libraries of Sanctuary: https://libraries.cityofsanctuary.org

#LibraryOfSanctuary

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The Book Project is a multi-facetted project to mark our 25th Edition.

Artist/Writer/Illustrator Michael Young will be leading workshops in 8 lucky primary schools across the county to create a giant concertina book to be exhibited at Cressing Temple Barns on 23rd June as part of our Midsummer Madness Day.

Primary Schools can register to take part by completing this short form:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YB6KVZ3

We are also creating our own festival ink out of oak gall gathered from 25 destinations across Essex; creating a People’s Festival Charter fit for the next 25 years with the help of artist/writer/calligrapher Lora Aziz and Special Collections and Archive team University of Essex, and much more.

All will be revealed when our programme goes live on April 4th. In the meantime, here’s a flavour of things to come …

The post Announcing the launch of The Book Project appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

Saturday 1st June – Mark the diary now.

How to get involved

We’re looking for volunteers to join us on the day, If you would like to come along and hold a Beach of Dreams pennant, register your interest by completing this form.

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Through this screening, they want to bring volunteers, citizens, community leaders, decision-makers and students together to think positively about how the planet can become greener and fairer.

The FREE screening will be of the documentary 2040 and will take place on Friday 1st March, 3–6pm in room QUE 101.🎥

REGISTER your interest to take part https://kinema.com/events/2040-jgrpy2

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